Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Night, is observed on 5 November in the United Kingdom. The event commemorates the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
A group of English Catholics had planned to assassinate the Protestant King James and replace him with a Catholic monarch. The group were betrayed and Guy Fawkes discovered beneath Westminster Palace with a cache of gunpowder.
Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London; and months later, the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot’s failure.
The present-day Guy Fawkes Night is usually celebrated at large organised events, centred on a bonfire and extravagant firework displays.